Blindside
A Thought Crushed My Mind
Reviewed by David M. Pogge
After nearly two years since their stunning debut album, the Swedish heroes of emotional hardcore have finally unleashed their sophomore album upon an increasingly impatient public. With this release, a new musical direction is pursued. Gone are those grooves that you can't help but move to, and the majority of the mellow singing parts that make you want to cry. Instead of creating melody in the midst of chaos, the band pursues a much more straight forward hardcore / punk sound complete with faster upbeat verses and scream-along choruses. Occasionally, there is a hint of the artsy hardcore the band used to play; they even have string arrangements for a couple of songs. But overall, the grooves and melody are almost completely replaced by frenzied hardcore. It's as if someone slipped some speed in their orange juice just before they went into the studio. The vocals sound a lot more strained and hoarse in this one, but still powerful and convincing nonetheless. Check out track eight ("Nara"). The boys give a nod back to their native roots as vocalist Christian sings / screams the whole song in Swedish. Hearing the difficulty he had making the words fit, would lead me to believe that English is a much easier language to sing in. To be honest, I miss the schizophrenic instability of the first album; the painful melodies that would suddenly explode into monstrous grooves. This is in no way saying that this is not a good follow-up release; on the contrary, this latest release from our favorite Swedes will blow hardcore fans away. But for those of you expecting more of their debut, prepare yourself for change.